[bkopsick]

I've read alot of posts about people using Malaysian Trumpet Snails in tanks with sand substrate to help with aeration and release of "deadly gas pockets", but I've also read many posts about the MTS multiplying like crazy and getting out of control. I've alwasy just been kind of churning the sand myself manually when I do my water changes but I was tossing around the idea (weighing pros and cons) and I was wondering what recomendations either way anyone might have on the subject of MTS?

 

[Joea]

Malaysian Trumpet Snails will multiply to large numbers but I've never had them take over a tank. You'll find them in your canister filters as well. They do stir the sand but it's more of an aesthetic advantage (not allowing as much algae to grow) than anything else, anaerobic gas produced in sand is not deadly, it just smells bad when it hits the surface.

My biggest problem with them was cleaning them out of my canister filters, but I was cleaning it anyway.

 

[justin323]

MTS equals free food

 

[Linka]

I have no problem with mine. They live in the sand and are just up and "walking" in the night time.

Linka

 

[emptyhead]

I don't think they have a chance of taking over your tank. I know for a fact the yellow labs will eat small trumpet snails and your other mbuna probably will also.

In my mbuna tank - the snails were eaten as soon as I put them in. For a time, I turned my fry tank into a snail tank and grew the snails out to about 3/4" length then put them in. I now see a few snails as I clean the tank, but I never see baby snails. I also used snails from the snail tank to feed the yellow labs. And now there are no snails in the snail tank as mbuna fry have eaten them all.

I like knowing there are snails working through the sand. I use sponge pre filters on my filters and I don't have any snails in the filters.

 

[DJRansome]

I don't have MTS but regular pond snail and ramshorn snails. And I didn't mind a couple when they first hitchhiked in on plants. But they've taken over my tank and I can't get rid of them. So be sure you don't mind having more snails than gravel. Not all cichlids will eat snails, especially MTS and even if they do, they may not eat them in sufficient volume to keep them under control.

 

[BigJagLover]

Hey DjRansome if you don't want the snails anymore then a few clown loaches or the like botia's work great. Just some food for thought. They would coexeist pretty well in your tanks too.

 

[Dewdrop]

Joea, thanks so much for telling that the gas produced in pockets in the sand isn't deadly. I too was under the impression that it was and it was one of the main reasons I was afraid to use sand. Good to know.

 

[cichlidaholic]

Joea, thanks so much for telling that the gas produced in pockets in the sand isn't deadly.

Dewdrop, it isn't deadly, as long as you do routine maintenance and churn it and not let it build up too much. For instance, I churn one side of the tank every other week, alternating between the two sides. All you have to do is take the end of your siphon and dig a little deeper with your water changes. If you don't do this, it can cause problems down the line when you "stir things up". I've actually known of hobbyist who had never churned their sand before, then gone to rearrange things or change substrate and lost alot of fish.

The good thing about sand is that it is easy to clean. Most of your waste sits on top of it, waiting for you and your siphon hose!

 

[football mom]

have MTS in my tanks from day one, the breeder I bought my first fish from gave me some.
A few times over the years I have had to siphon out some excess ones, but for the most part
they are fine. I do think they do a good job keeping the sand stirred up.
j

 

[Joea]

I've actually known of hobbyist who had never churned their sand before, then gone to rearrange things or change substrate and lost alot of fish.

I've also heard this claim more than once, but I believe it's more likely due to an ammonia spike from moving waste and leftover food, more so than any effects of anaerobic gases. Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) cannot penetrate water, it's self contained in the bubbles that raise to the surface. This is why they smell like rotten eggs.

I'll try and paraphrase some information on this debate. This is from memory and Wikipedia so if there's any chemists out there who can correct me, please chime in!

In order for Sulfur Dioxide to have any effect in water, it needs to go through a complex process called the "contact process" so that it's converted to Sulfur Trioxide. It can then be introduced to water which in turn, produces sulfuric acid. The contact process can't take place in water alone. The sulfur dioxide won't interact with H2O and so it simply rises to the top and dissipates into the air.

The only way that it may have an effect on fish, is if a bubble rising to the top, happens to pass through the gills of fish, which is unlikely.

 

[Dave]

Joea, thanks so much for telling that the gas produced in pockets in the sand isn't deadly. I too was under the impression that it was and it was one of the main reasons I was afraid to use sand. Good to know.

This is because the sand in most tanks is not deep enough to be an issue. If you had very deep sand, like maybe 12", then you could potentially produce toxic by products from anaerobic bacteria. If you stir the sand at water changes then there should be nothing to worry about.

I've also heard this claim more than once, but I believe it's more likely due to an ammonia spike from moving waste and leftover food, more so than any effects of anaerobic gases. Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) cannot penetrate water, it's self contained in the bubbles that raise to the surface. This is why they smell like rotten eggs.

I would agree with this.

 

[cichlidaholic]

I also make it a habit to remove rocks every 2-3 months and vacuum well without anything in the tank to keep down the mess that can build up in the "dead spots". :thumb:

IMO, it's pretty much a "non issue" for those who maintain their tanks well.

 

[Noahbody]

I don't think they have a chance of taking over your tank. I know for a fact the yellow labs will eat small trumpet snails and your other mbuna probably will also.

In my mbuna tank - the snails were eaten as soon as I put them in. For a time, I turned my fry tank into a snail tank and grew the snails out to about 3/4" length then put them in. I now see a few snails as I clean the tank, but I never see baby snails. I also used snails from the snail tank to feed the yellow labs. And now there are no snails in the snail tank as mbuna fry have eaten them all.

I second that! I can not get them to live my tank. They do not survive long enough to grow!

 

[DJRansome]

BigJagLover, do you have any I could rent, LOL? I don't want them long term. And they couldn't really do much about the ones behind the in-tank background.

I guess I could buy some and return them to the LFS when the job is done.

I'm going to move fish in snail-infested 38G first of the year to another tank. At that time it will be torn down and all snails eradicated. If I ever get them again, however, I may have to keep a separate tank just for snail-eaters and rotate them in-out of the tanks periodically.